Remember that game?
Ben was 13-25 for 131 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT (50.6 rating).
He was replaced by Leftwich who was 4-7 for 60 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT (85.4 rating).
Willie Parker ran 13 times for 20 yards (1.5 ypc average).
The offensive line gave up 9 sacks (Ben was sacked 8 times and Byron once more).
The game this weekend felt pretty bad, but I recall that game against the Eagles feeling even worse.
I remember the dispair following that game, thinking that this team had zero chance of success with this offense, and this offensive line in particular.
What happened after that game? Well, our next game was against a division rival on Monday night football (sound familiar?). Back then, we beat Baltimore in overtime, 23-20, and were off and running toward a 12-4 regular season record, culminating in our 6th Super Bowl victory. Yup, that mindblowingly pathetic early season offense was the one that drove us down field in the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl for the Ben-to-Santonio toe-tapping "that's how you be great" finale. So there still is hope.
Bookmarks